Enjoy plans to invest USD 118 M in Chile in two years

Almost a year ago, Advent, an American private equity firm, acquired a majority interest in Enjoy, through an increase in capital of US$ 184 million, amid high levels of debt that were putting the company's future growth at risk.

Its arrival at the firm came with major changes, aimed at overcoming Enjoy's complex financial situation which nowadays have allowed the company to plan significant investments in the four casinos which obtained licenses during the last bidding process which took place last year.

The company will invest a total amount of US$ 118 million in the casinos located in Coquimbo, Viña del Mar, Pucón and Puerto Varas, within the next two to three years.

As for Viña del Mar's flagship casino, the investment will include the replacement of all of the gaming machines, 500 of which have already been purchased and installed. It will also include renovation works at the casino's VIP halls, restaurants, and bars. All of this will cost almost US$ 32 million. At Coquimbo's casino, where US$ 29,4 million will be spent, apart from replacing the machines, the company will renovate the exterior and interior parts of the casino as well as build a new convention center with twice the capacity of the current one.

At Pucón's casino, the amount invested is expected to reach US$ 31 million and will be used to build a new casino integrated into the current hotel. Finally, at Puerto Varas, Enjoy will invest US$ 24,5 million, to buy new machines and to build a new casino right next to the hotel Enjoy currently operates in the city—where renovation works will also be made.

According to the local press, all of these investments will be financed with cashflows and a bond issued on November amounting to US$ 123 million. 70% of that sum will be allocated to debt refinancing and 30%, to finance new projects.

During this second quarter, the company began to operate the casinos in Los Angeles and San Antonio, whose licenses were awarded in 2018, changing the current distribution of casino operations. Once Enjoy starts operating the facility in Puerto Baras—formerly operated by Sun Dreams— and the other two casinos they purchased, it will officially hold a 43% market share, which currently represents  36,8%.

Last week, the company announced the appointment of its new CEO, Rodrigo Larraín (former CFO at Cencosud), effective April 15. Executing all of these plans will be among the main tasks of the new executive.